Three-time Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia averaged 235.6 Thursday to retain his lead after the third round of the Barbasol PBA Players Championship leading a field of 24 players who advanced to Friday’s fourth round.

Belmonte (pictured above), who is trying to end a two-year drought without a Tour win, bowled games of 263, 244, 237, 193, 248, 201, 234 and 265 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio, to bring his combined three-round 24-game pinfall total to 5,624 (234.3) average.

2011 Players Championship winner, is trying for his seventh major title. He won a record three consecutive USBC Masters (2013, 2014 and 2015) and won back-to-back PBA Tournament of Champions titles in 2014 and 2015. His 2015 Tournament of Champions victory was his last Tour title.

Belmonte holds a 104-pin lead over two-time Tour winner DJ Archer (left>) of Friendswood, Texas, in second who finished with a 5,520 pinfall followed by two-time Tour winner Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., in third with 5,487.

Anthony Simonsen (right) of Austin, Texas rocketed to fourth after the third round with a 5,453 pinfall after starting the tournament in 72nd after the first round. Simonsen, who bowled a 300 game in the round, became the youngest player to win a PBA major when he won the 2016 USBC Masters at age 19.

AJ Chapman (left) of Wichita, Kan., was fifth with 5,435 followed by Martin Larsen (below right), Sweden, in sixth place with 5,409, including one of four perfectos in the round (Sam Cooley, Australia, and Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., had the others).

PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., who battled through pain caused by arthritis in his back in the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VIII in December but still managed to finish sixth in the PBA World Championship, finished the day in 12th with a 5,373 pinfall.

The 37-time PBA Tour winner (left) is trying for a record 11th major title. He is currently tied with the late Hall of Famer Earl Anthony with 10 majors.

Defending champion Graham Fach of Canada advanced to the fourth round by finishing 14th with a 5,328 pinfall. Anthony Lavery-Spahr of Pasadena, Texas, took the last spot to advance with 5,265 or an average of 219.38.

The top 24 players will bowl an eight-game round Friday morning that will determine the top 16 players who will advance to the final eight-game round Friday afternoon. After Friday’s final round, the top five players will advance to the live stepladder finals Sunday on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.

All qualifying rounds are covered live on PBA’s Xtra Frame online video streaming service. For subscription information, click here.

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Barbasol PBA Players Championship – Third Round Standings

Players with position, hometown and 24-game total; top 24 advanced to Friday’s fourth round

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 5,624
2, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 5,520
3, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 5,487
4, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 5,453
5, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 5,435
6, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 5,409
7, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 5,398
8, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 5,383
9, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 5,378
10, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 5,377
11, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 5,375
12, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 5,373
13, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 5,334
14, Graham Fach, Canada, 5,328
15, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 5,304
16, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 5,303
17, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,291
18, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 5,289
19, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 5,288
20, (tie) Francois Lavoie, Canada, and Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 5,286
22, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 5,284
23, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 5,271
24, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 5,265

Missed Cut:
25, (tie) Darren Tang, San Francisco, 5,259, and Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 5,259, $1,725
27, Richie Teece, England, 5,255, $1,650
28, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 5,241, $1,600
29, JR Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 5,239
30, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 5,233
31, Zacharary Wilkins, Canada, 5,228
32, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 5,224
33, (tie) Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., and Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 5,221
35, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5,220
36, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 5,217
37, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5,209
38, Cristian Azcona, Lake Wales, Fla., 5,198
39, Ronnie Sparks Jr., Redford, Mich., 5,195
40, Patrick Allen, Elmwood Park, N.J., 5,186
41, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 5,183
42, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 5,182
43, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 5,167
44, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 5,166
45, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 5,163
46, (tie) Thomas Larsen, Denmark, and Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, 5,161
48, Dom Barrett, England, 5,159
49, (tie) Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., Sam Cooley, Australia and Josh Conner, Columbus, Ohio, 5,150
52, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 5,147
53, BJ Moore III, Greensburg, Pa., 5,146
54, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 5,145
55, Stuart Williams, England, 5,121
56, Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 5,120
57, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5,116
58, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 5,107
59, Joe Bailey, Wooster, Ohio, 5,103
60, Matthew Sanders, Evansville, Ind., 5,102
61, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 5,098
62, (tie) Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, and Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 5,095
64, Francois Louw, South Africa, 5,084
65, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 5,063
66, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 5,061
67, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 5,048
68, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 5,046
69, David Krol, Nixa, Mo., 5,041
70, Matthew O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 5,025
71, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 5,018
72, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 5,004
73, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 5,001
74, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 4,991
75, Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill, Fla., 4,988
76, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 4,983
77, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 4,957
78, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 4,955
79, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 4,951
80, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 4,942
81, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 4,940
82, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 4,927
83, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 4,925
84, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 4,892
85, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 4,891
86, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 4,880
87, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 4,864
88, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 4,859
89, Matthew Rubright, Pittsburgh, Pa., 4,853
90, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 4,851
91, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 4,838
92, Kyle Mayberry, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, 4,837
93, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 4,821
94, Jason Lundquist, Columbus, Ohio, 4,806
95, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 4,800
96, Kelly Jordon, Marion, Ohio, 4,787
97, Daniel Hochstein, Farmington Hills, Mich., 4,742
98, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 4,737
99, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 4,719
100, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 4,717
101, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 4,697
102, Rocio Restrepo, Colombia, 4,695
103, Joshua Weiner, Hilliard, Ohio, 4,691
104, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 4,678
105, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 4,621
106, Anggie Ramirez, Colombia, 4,618
107, Christopher Barger, Dry Ridge, Ky., 4,592
108, Jeremiah Bryant, Taylor, Mich., 4,558
109, Zachery Tackett, Huntington, Ind.,, 4,551
110, Matthew Wozney, Clayton, Del., 4,499
111, Warren Burr, Wilmington, Del., 4,447
112, David Adcox Jr., Shawnee, Kan., 4,363
113, Chad Cygnarowicz, Robinson Township, Pa., 4,136

300 games (4) – Martin Larsen, Sam Cooley, Anthony Simonsen, Aaron Lorincz.